Guns, Goons and Gold [Presentation Thursdays] October 1, 2009

In keeping with the topic of Philippine Political Culture, I thought the theme of “Guns, Goons and Gold” — the typical characterization of politics in the country — would be a fitting way to introduce students to perspectives on Philippine politics.

But before that: am I the only one who sees the only two bullets on the second slide numbered as three and four? I’m guessing it’s a Slideshare glitch, since the original file displays the numbering correctly.

Going back: these slides were really just a glorified excuse to get students to read Amado Doronila’s A New Paradigm for Understanding Philippine Politics. Granted, it’s neither a seminal nor particular groundbreaking essay on the subject, but it is a concise and intelligent reader quite appropriate for college sophomores who, more likely than not, don’t have a clue.

With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to think of better ways to present the matter. Looking at the slides now, I’m of the mind that a lecture covering the same points would be much more illuminating as a discussion of case studies: one for the top-down traditional perspective of “trapo” politics, and another for the bottom-up civil society-led “new paradigm” of the same. I can even see a ballroom-type presentation/photo slideshow being much more effective at getting students interested in the subject. Alas, I wasn’t nearly as wise then (both on the subject and on making presentations), and considering that students seldom do the required reading before the lecture (speaking from experience), I’d have to say that these slides got the job done well enough.

Slides were prepared on Powerpoint XP. Can’t recall where I came across the template, though.

[About Presentation Thursdays: Every now and then, on a Thursday, I post a presentation from my archives and include some accompanying commentary not just about the content but also my thoughts on designing it. The presentations can also be viewed and downloaded from my Slideshare page]